Graduation Edition: Class of 2012

AMERICAN SCHOOL
OF PARIS
Founded 1946
Graduation
Edition:
Class of 2012
American School of Paris Newsletter
A Word
from the
Head of
School
Commencement
With great respect and even a sense of awe, our
teachers, Aaron Hubbard and I have watched the commitment to learning and unbridled energy our graduating class of 2012 poured into their final year at ASP. The pace our graduates set for themselves within their
academic and extracurricular pursuits has left all of us a
bit breathless, yet sincerely touched by the substance of
their achievements and their obvious initiative for personal and academic excellence.
In the name of wholeness of education, we ask our
students to continually stretch themselves intellectually
and dedicate their time and effort within and outside
the classroom–a hallmark of an ASP education. In the
ten months of their senior year, our students take on demanding course loads, ongoing classroom assessments,
service projects–from Romania to Bali to the Kalahari
Desert, theater productions, sports and academic tournaments, external exams, college applications, and then
they must wait for college admissions officers to make
decisions about their future. There were surely days our seniors felt part of a juggling act within a three-ring circus. Yet graduating and
emerging on the other side is the stuff of achievement
and building the belief that all things are possible. Our
seniors did not disappoint.
This year’s graduates raised the bar on personal
and academic excellence. As an example, consider several achievement measures of our 85 students in the
class of 2012:
• 40% are seeking the full IB Diploma
• 20% are seeking the IB bi-lingual diploma
• 40% completed three or more AP courses
and exams
• 33% completed four or more AP courses
and exams
• 24 of our seniors are AP Scholar candidates
• 91% of have participated in IB/AP external
examinations
• 5 of our students are Advanced Placement
International Diploma Candidates
• 88% of our seniors participated in service clubs
• 39 seniors played on JV and varsity sports, earning
medals in multiple sports
• Seniors led our student council and initiated the
first-ever international student government leadership
seminar for European overseas schools.
• Our graduating class obtained an exemplary university
admissions standing, with a 40% acceptance rate into
the most competitive colleges in America–the world
average is 33%, as rated by the Barron’s Guide.
• Fully 90% of this year’s graduating class received one
or more offers from their top university choices.
• 18% of the class was admitted to the most competitive
Colleges and Universities in the United Kingdom.
• 24% of our seniors are going to science, technology and
engineering programs and 13% to business and hotel
management programs
• 10% of our seniors are attending top film, visual and
performing arts programs worldwide.
This class has worked hard to learn and excel and we
all observe, and like very much, what good and loyal friends
they are and will continue to be for each other.
Surely the senior year poses special challenge to the art
of parenting. I suspect there were days you thought your
senior was redefining the term “procrastination” or you had
a new understanding of the word, “worry”. Yet these ten
months have flown by faster than anyone would have liked,
and just as you know your family dynamic is about to change,
we know your graduate is prepared for the challenges that
come next.
Yes, our class of 2012 has achieved much during their
time with us – but all that was meant to happen has happened
because they are fine people from families that care deeply
about doing what it takes to help them live meaningful and
purposeful lives. Thank you teachers through the grades,
parents of graduating seniors and our remarkable ASP community. I think you have graduated too.
All Good Wishes,
Mark E. Ulfers
Head of School
1
Note from the Editor
“ASP by the Numbers”
10
Number of nationalities in
our graduating class
Number of service
organizations in which
senior students played
key roles
24%
of students admitted to
science, technology or
engineering programs
33
Number of senior students
who took the IB diploma
23
40%
of the class admitted to most competitive
US institutions (admitting fewer than 1/3
of all applicants)
85
88%
Number of students in the
2012 graduating class
90%
of senior students
involved in an Upper
School club or group
of admission offers received from
the applying students’ top choices
1,302
Number of champagne
bottles sold by the senior
parent group in support of
senior class activities
131
Number of university
acceptances
This special edition of The ASPect is dedicated
to our ASP graduates. The purpose of the issue
is not only to highlight and celebrate this proud
accomplishment in the life of our students but also
tell the stories of those who have helped along the
way. The production of this issue would not have
been possible without the contribution of ASP parent Usha Viswanathan. We thank Usha for bringing her wonderful story ideas and so eloquently
delivering them in the written word.
Renée Bélec
Communications Manager
This year-end issue celebrates the Class of 2012
and the many members of the school community
who helped these 85 seniors arrive at this milestone. Soon, the class will disperse all over the
world to start their college careers. Continuing
to link them together, however, will be the friendships forged on this campus and memories of the
academic challenges they tackled together. Our
hope: their remembrances of their ASP years
remain vivid and that they return “home” to share
stories from the next phase of their lives. Finally,
we would like to thank the faculty members,
administrators and staff at ASP for nurturing our
graduates’ hopes and supporting their dreams
through the years.
Usha Viswanathan
Special Editor
2012
An outstanding class!
2
3
We asked our senior
class of 2012
to name a highlight of Their Experience at ASP:
“The senior trips”
“Model United Nations”
“The day I became
more confident”
“Graduation”
“Winning Track & Field ISSTs and
setting an new ASP record”
“Taking IB Art”
“The 2011 Student Film
Festival”
“My incredible, talented, humble and
generous friends”
“Physics labs”
“Traveling to Bali for Habitat
for Humanity”
“The 2011 Kalahari trip”
“Becoming a part of this amazing
international and tight-knit community”
“Making the
soccer team”
“Being on stage instead of
behind the scene”
“’A’ in Math”
“Being a featured writer at
the INK Night”
“Mr. Miller’s biology class”
“My personal and
academic turnaround”
“Singing in the A Capella group”
“Competing on a sports team”
“Becoming a stronger individual”
“Gaining a love for computer science”
“Developing an open mind
and educated outlook”
“Winning volleyball ISSTs
senior year at home”
“Everything – every class, every
musical opportunity”
“Getting into college”
“The 2011 cross-country season”
“Getting an amazing
international education”
“Sitting in Johan Semaan’s classroom”
“My poem being read at Middle School graduation”
4
ASP
Voices
The class of 2012 represents numerous states and nationalities, but
each member has one thing in common: the personal growth they have
experienced since they started high school. We asked a small group of
seniors to reflect upon the changes they have witnessed within themselves since then. Their thoughtful answers are presented here:
Do you think you have changed a lot from your
freshman year?
Farah Weannara, Clark University
Now that I am a senior on the verge of
graduating and heading off to college,
I realize that I have changed quite a bit
from when I was a freshman. However,
rather than having changed, I have
grown. I was quiet and stubborn, unwilling to try new things or interact with
unfamiliar people, but in the past few
years, I have become more confident in
academics and learned to work with others. Conversely, I find it more important
that I’ve grown as a person. I have become more adventurous and comfortable
with who I am. I put myself out there and
despite many challenges, it has paid off.
I am happy to say I will graduate with no
regrets.
Evan Knox, McGill University
Like most stereotypical freshmen, I was
lost when I started high school. We were
in Shanghai. It took time, but I eventually
started to reach out of my comfort zone
and try new things.
Hannah Nowicki, Carnegie Mellon
“Yes, I have changed a great deal since
my freshman year, and no doubt for the
better. I arrived at ASP halfway through
my sophomore year as a shy, timid girl
from Kansas with no moving experience
and no exposure to any kind of foreign
culture. I had never been challenged to
defend my thoughts or beliefs, develop
my own opinions, or have an open mind,
skills which are essential to the culture
of ASP. Now after two and a half years
at ASP, I have partaken in a number of
amazing opportunities and, more importantly, learned how to keep an open mind
and be a critical thinker. These skills will
help me in my future endeavors, both
musical and educational, as one period
of my life ends and another begins.”
5
When we moved to Paris for my final
two years of high school, I started the
International Baccalaureate (to the unfortunate detriment of my social life). I
also managed to pursue a new interest I
had in the developing world by building houses in Macedonia and teaching
English in South Africa. It was at the
American School of Paris where for the
first time, I became involved immediately with the school due to the warm
welcome given by my new teachers and
classmates, along with a new desire to be
more active. In Paris, I found I was capable of making a noticeable difference to
the school community, and this is a realization I am very proud of. Through the
sports I took up, I learned that I give the
most of myself on a team. As a student
leader, I know that I can stand by myself
in front of others. I don’t hesitate to state
my ideas and will step up to lead if there
is a chance. Like most of the seniors at
ASP, I do too much and have time for too
little, but every second is always worth it.
Avery Sellers,
George Washington University
When I arrived at ASP I had very few
interests and little motivation in academics, due to a really bad experience at a
French school. At ASP I was challenged
and encouraged by some really great
teachers (you know who you are!) and I
started to get truly engaged in learning
about the world around me, and I began
to understand my place in the world. In
9th grade, with Mrs. Schupack’s help, I
discovered filmmaking. It has become
one of my greatest passions and an inspiration to the rest of my work. In gaining
more awareness of the world, I’ve come
to demand more of myself to make a
contribution to making the world a better
place.
ASP Voices
A Special Feature
Twins for Life
Come fall, as parents of this year’s graduating class say
A very early involvement in a theater group and an hourgoodCome fall, as parents of this year’s graduating class say
long play she wrote in eighth grade convinced Allie to pursue
goodbye to their college-bound son or daughter, Larry and
the arts in depth. “I ran into the same kids from my Provence
Kathy Miller will wave goodbye to two children, twins Tess
middle school, where I had written the play, at an MUN con(Antonia) and Allie (Alexandra), as each moves to different
ference in The Hague last year. They remembered me and
states to attend very different programs. Notes Allie, the
that play,” she says proudly. A movie script she wrote at her
elder by two minutes, “It probably will be a bigger moment
German school and short films she has produced at ASP, infor Mom and Dad than it will be for us. We’re ready, but they
cluding a 13-minute documentary of the Kalahari experience
might have to get used to not having us around.”
now on YouTube, convinced her of Wesleyan’s fit. “It has a reThe sisters arrived at ASP as juniors after a year at
ally artsy vibe in addition to a strong film program,” she adds.
a German boarding school and quickly took to the variFor Tess, a career that addresses international issues
ety of extracurriculars offered here: Tess became an MUN
and offers lots of travel, maybe at the United Nations, the
regular while Allie gravitated towards sports teams and the
U.S. State Department or with an NGO, would be a dream
arts. Their engagement in each paid off in the college apcome true. “I’d like to do a five-year Master’s program in
plication process with Tess gaining a spot at New York City’s
International Relations and study a combination of history,
Barnard College to study international relations and human
sociology, and several languages,” she says.
rights and Allie acceptance into Wesleyan University in
Today, with year-end exams over, the girls note that
Middletown, CT, for film studies.
they have a lot to look forward to and less to complain
“We’ll be separated by an Amtrak line,” notes Tess of her
about. “Before, we could agonize about the workload tosister, classmate and closest confidant since kindergarten. gether, and we would argue about who is carrying the heavier
With college looming, how do they imagine their future
load,” laughs Tess. “But, we also would read each other’s colrelationship? “When you
lege essays, and that made
grow up with a person who
it really nice because we
is in the same grade as you,
could share information
who shares the same birthand critique each other’s
day, you become known as
work honestly. With somethe twins, the girls” says
one else, it would have
Tess. “We don’t know what
been harder because you
it will be like to be one
really don’t want to feel
person, on our own, as indilike you’re competing with
viduals.”
a friend for a spot at a
“We’ll definitely miss
school.”
each other,” says Allie.
The next time the
Arriving at ASP, each
girls see each other regusister gravitated to her
larly will be during semesarea of interest, discoverter breaks. Tess Miller & Allie Miller
ing additional strengths
“I know that they
and interests in the prothink their parents will
cess. While they explored some of the same extracurriculars
suffer the most, but from my perspective the bond they have
together, such as the six-day Model United Nations conferhad since birth is stronger than they think and at some point
ence at The Hague, a Habitat for Humanity excursion in
after the exhilaration of the first few months at college wears
Macedonia, and a two-week trip to the Kalahari desert to
off, they may feel an odd sort of emptiness,” says their mother,
teach English at a South African school, their academic choicKathy Miller.
es differed. Allie chose the AP track and Tess the IB.
“It’ll be tough,” says Allie. “We’ll speak with each other
“In Germany, we were being prepared for IB, so chooson the phone, that’s for sure. But then there’ll also be, ‘where
ing it was natural for me. And, I wanted to challenge myself,”
do we begin?’ ”
says Tess. Notes Allie, “Not all my interests fit into the IB
track and I wanted to study a variety of subjects outside of it,
so doing the AP made more sense.”
6
Senior
Awards
The European Council of International Schools’
Award for International Understanding
This award is given to a student who is a good representative of his own
country with a positive attitude towards the life and cultures of others, able to
converse in at least two languages, a contributing force in the life of the school,
with the ability to bring differing people together into a sense of community,
thus furthering the cause of international understanding.
This year’s recipient is
Julia Fruitema
Academic Excellence
This award is based on class rank. It is presented to
the top two students in the class.
This year’s recipients
Karson Pape &
Robin Brenninkmeijer
7
Citizenship
This award is given to two students who have
demonstrated through their outstanding citizenship the
core values of respect, responsibility and honesty that are
central to the mission of the American School of Paris.
This year’s recipients
Robin Brenninkmeijer &
Anna Bradley Webb
International Award
Service to the School
This award is given to two students who, in their own
way, have fostered better understanding among the diverse
nationalities comprising the community of the
American School of Paris.
This award is given to two students who have
demonstrated exceptional commitment to the school.
This year’s recipients
Nikhil Pai & Avery Sellers
This year’s recipients
Salomé Mirigay &
Farah Weannara
Parker Bradford Spirit Award
This award, named in honor of Parker Bradford, Class of
2007, is given to a student whose energy, enthusiasm and
dynamism have lifted the spirit of the ASP Community.
This year’s recipient
Renaissance Award
This award is given to two students who have distinguished
themselves in at least three of the following areas: the
Humanities, the Sciences, the Arts and Athletics.
This year’s recipients
Martina Belloni
Rawi Fayad & Karson Pape
J.B. Chapman Award
This award is given in memory of John Chapman, former
Headmaster of American School of Paris; annual awards
are given to two students who have contributed with great
modesty to the life of the school.
This year’s recipients
Evan Knox & Hannah Nowicki
Director’s Award
The Director’s award is presented to a person who so closely typifies our school’s mission, as being
committed on the day-to-day to personal and academic excellence but who also lives the value of
service to others — putting in the time to make things better. This is a person of integrity, who walks
the talk, has a mighty heart — and beyond all other gifts is viewed as a person of character.
This year’s recipient
Anthony Ghosn
8
High School –
look out!
Make way because
here we come…
A Word from the Middle School President
As the now “past” President
of the Middle School Student
Council I want to take this opportunity to thank, congratulate and
honour each and every one of my
fellow students for participating
and supporting all the events that
took place during this past school
year.
Together, we raised over
20,000 Euros that went to various charities around the world.
The Middle School Dances, Love
Lara Minder
in a Box, Walkathon, Advisory
Challenges and the Canned Food Drive are just a few activities that would not have been possible without your sincere
dedication and participation.
Participation is what counts – and that is all up to you!
I think this year proved that when we work together, we can
make a difference. For those of you who would like to dedicate
a little more time to shaping our Middle School and helping
improve our community, I encourage you to jump right in and
become more involved. I have no doubt that you will find the
experience very rewarding and enriching.
9
As I look forward into the future, there is one thing that has
always been very important to me. Something that I have learned
right here at ASP: show respect, show responsibility, show honesty and tolerance. Cherish the difference in everyone! Enjoy the
variety of cultures and learn and grow from them. But most importantly be open to new things that will be presented to you on
your journey. Along the way, never forget to respect yourself. Live
your dream, live it to the fullest, and take advantage of all the
possibilities that your parents and your teachers have been able
to provide for you. Take responsibility for your actions, take care
of your community and always remain honest.
Finally, to my fellow 8th Graders I want to congratulate you
and acknowledge that we have all worked long and hard this
year.
Lara Minder
2011-12 President of the Middle School Student Council
The great news is that we are ready!
We are prepared!
We are excited!
And, we are awesome!
The Graduating
Class of 2016!
Eighth Grade Promotion
A sincere, “Congratulations!” goes out to our 74 eighth
grade students at ASP who graced the stage for our Middle
School Promotion and Closing Ceremony in June. It is fitting
to celebrate this rite of passage – graduating from middle
school to upper school. The middle school years are a time
of immense growth and development physically, emotionally and educationally. The attitudes and values they develop
during this period will have great impact on their educational
outcomes and indeed on their lives as adults. And so, we mark
this occasion with deserved pomp and circumstance for it is
truly an accomplishment. We can, also, take this opportunity
to offer them encouragement as they head towards the next
stage of their education.
Observing these young adults in their transition to upper school, I am reminded that this has been a year full of
exciting opportunities for their development. They found
ways to express themselves through the fine and visual arts
including the MS musical production, “Man of Steel”, and
MS Band performances. I’m encouraged to see them reach
out to our greater community through service learning activities and clubs like Model UN. Through the Outward Bound
field trip and middle school athletic programs, they sought
to stretch their physical boundaries. Perhaps most exciting
of all, has been watching them strive for academic excellence
and achieve.
It is with mixed emotions that I bid good-bye to all our
eighth graders. Some of our students have joined as recently
as last year, and others have been with us throughout middle
school. However long their time in our school, I have come to
appreciate the contribution each has made. They are a group
of fine young people full of “joie de vivre” and promise. The
faculty, staff and administration are equally proud of their
achievements. I am confident the lessons they have learned
and the skills they have acquired in the compassionate, yet
challenging environment at ASP will set them in good stead
to take this next step on the road to maturity.
Kathy Miner
Middle School Director
10
Let Us Take
the World
by Storm
A Word from the Upper School President
As the year comes full circle I’m sure we all feel the same
bittersweet feeling of excitement and regret. Excitement at
the uncertainty of the future, and regret at the intangible, untouchable nature of the past. Memories, experiences, friendships, that all seem to slip through our fingers, that time and
circumstance have stolen, float in your mind and trouble you
slightly. Yet, one cannot deny that we have all had great highschool experiences, all made friends, learnt from one another,
and grown intellectually. Although his chapter is closing, we
are well prepared for the next, equipped with open-minds,
international networks and a top notch education. We can
collectively find strength and solace in the fact that we have
come out on top, that we have been given the tools to be the
best we can be. As a class we are a powerhouse of talents, ambitions and personalities, all feeding and learning off of
each other to enrich ourselves and share
our knowledge. Let us rejoice in these
truths, let us cherish the last moments
together, and then finally let us take the
world by storm.
Anthony Ghosn
Anthony Ghosn
2011-12 President of the Upper School Student Council
Martina Belloni & Julia Fruitema
Class of 2012 Alumni Reps
Upper School Student Council 2011-12
11
With a flip of their blue and gold tassels to the opposite sides
of their mortar boards come June 16, the class of 2012 will officially
become ASP alumni. Already, two graduating seniors have agreed
to serve as the point of contact for their senior classmates from their
college years to beyond.
Seniors Martina Belloni and Julia Fruitema will become class
reps and encourage their classmates to remain in touch with one
another. Says Kim Sheehey, alumni and community coordinator, “A
well-connected and motivated alumni community is critical to supporting the mission of the American School of Paris. With college
students and young adults moving frequently, it is difficult to maintain updated contact information.” And, that’s where alumni reps
serve an all-important role. “Alumni respond much better to communication from their peers than from the alumni office,” says Sheehey.
Belloni and Fruitema were selected class reps by US Head Aaron
Hubbard. “They make an excellent choice because they love ASP,”
says Hubbard. “They are great friends and very outgoing and social
— the type of students that their classmates will rally around.”
In their roles, the pair will administer the Class of 2012 Facebook
group (now active); help inform classmates about reunions and class
events; and, encourage classmates to update their contact information with the Alumni Office.
“While students will scatter throughout the world soon to start
their college careers, holding them together will be the memories of
the ASP experience,” says Sheehey. “And, we want to help them stay
in touch with each other and with the school that nurtured them in so
many ways.
Wholeness
of Education
College Counsellors:
Helping Pave the Journeys from Upper School to University
Think it’s only parents without a dry eye at graduation?
Laura Vincens became principal
college counselor in 1993, advising
between 75-90 students on average annually until three years ago when the
class size topped 100. Over the years,
she has written more than 1,000 counselor’s recommendations and spends
about eight to ten hours crafting each
one. “I never cut and paste,” she says.
Each June, as the line of mortar board-topped seniors
snakes its way through the gymnasium, college counselors
Laura Vincens and Mary Jean Lowe look on with mixed emotions.
Laura Vincens
The moment marks the culmination of a two-year journey the guidance office, students and their parents had jointly
embarked upon. Notes Vincens who has observed the ceremony as college counselor for nearly 20
years, “We try to educate families about the
virtues of the many schools out there. And,
“I’m seeing the culmination of their
then, as now, I am thinking of how much
efforts to make the most of their talent,
respect I have for the child and the family to
capability and skills,” – Mary Jean Lowe
have arrived at this moment, to have completed the process and to have worked so
hard to arrive at the right match.”
“It’s a huge sense of pride I feel because the kids have
“I really do think about each child and
had to be confident in themselves, to be brave, and to take on
what they have offered our school and
Mary Jean Lowe
the next challenge,” notes Lowe about the graduates she first
will offer to their college.”
welcomed into her office as juniors.
Mary Jean Lowe, a former member of the school’s board
Looking every bit their age and often claiming little
of trustees, US head liaison, and a diplomat in an earlier caknowledge about navigating the complex application proreer, whose son and daughter graduated from ASP, says she
cess to American and international universities, these 16 and
relives every June the great joy she felt at her children’s grad17-year-olds built a strategy for college applications by workuation. “I’m seeing the culmination of their efforts to make
ing alongside a counselor. In turn, the counselor, has learnt
the most of their talent, capability and skills,” she says.
about the student, his or her interests and strengths, and has
Whether its aiming for a spot at an European university
guided the child and the family to the universities that will
or one stateside, Vincens and Lowe encourage students to
make for the best fit.
consider a range of options, including ones they may never
have heard of. Working with both the parent and student,
the counselors help manage expectations, grieve with the
students when they do not gain acceptance to a college they
“I really do think about each child and
coveted, and impress upon them that they cannot be defined
what they have offered our school and will
by a rejection. “It’s not easy when they learn they haven’t been
offer to their college.” – Laura Vincens
accepted, but we quickly move on and get very excited about
the rest of the schools they’ve applied to,” says Lowe.
Come graduation, when acceptance letters are a memory,
It’s a period during which the guidance counselors beVincens and Lowe sit back and reflect on what the students
came closely familiar with each student and one that allowed
have been able to accomplish since the start of their senior
them to gain the perspective they needed to write the counyear. “It’s a really emotional time because you’ve shared their
selor’s recommendation that accompanies most applications.
setbacks and their triumphs,” says Lowe. Adds Vincens, “I
am thrilled by what I do. And, that’s because I have a lot of
respect for the kids, the faculty and administration, and I love
the school.”
12
IB Faculty Advisors Reflect on Seniors’ Extended Essays
Nearly every year, Upper School History Teacher
Johann Semaan sits back in wonder at a paper he’s
reading. Written by a 17 or 18-year-old International
Baccalaureate diploma candidate in his or her senior year,
the investigative energy poured into the 4,000-word IB
Extended Essay renders him momentarily speechless. “I
doubt that many college upperclassmen could write at the
level of these kids,” he says.
For Extended Essay advisors such as Semaan, Hal
Judis, and Chris Friendly, reading the final draft of an essay nearly a year in the making, is an annual ritual. Even
Judis, a 42-year veteran of the IB program, notes he still
gets excited when evaluating a well-crafted final draft.
“And, boy, if the student then gets a score of seven on the
IB exam that’s the subject area of his essay, well I tell you, I
couldn’t be happier.”
As one component of a two-year course of study, the
purpose of an Extended Essay is to further a high school
student’s ability to “analyze, synthesize, and evaluate
knowledge,” according to the foundation that administers
the IB curriculum now adopted in 141 countries.
In the class of 2012, 33 out of 85 graduates, or more
than one-third of the class, chose to fulfill the requirements for the full diploma that also includes prescribed
hours of community service, college-level classes in academic subjects including the arts, and the Extended Essay.
Starting in the fourth quarter of their Junior year,
ASP’s IB candidates begin to craft a rough draft of a thesis.
“Sometimes the instinct for the student is to do something
crazy, the kind of work a Ph.D., candidate with a two-year
grant might pursue,” says Semaan.
“It’s a huge undertaking and students
have to come to realize what it means to
dive into a subject.” – Chris Friendly
It’s here that an advisor whose expertise falls within
the area of inquiry the student proposes to explore makes
all the difference. “We work in short bursts of guidance
between the junior and senior year, helping the student
to narrow down their research idea, to start organizing information, and to build the sections of the essay logically,”
he says.
Deadlines for thesis ideas, rough drafts, and final
drafts are set a year in advance by Academic Dean Brian
Brazeau. “Sometimes, there’s a tremendous amount of
nagging from the spring of the junior year to come up
with a real topic with real answers to investigate, and to
get students to focus on a subject that’s not due for several months,” says Friendly. “It’s a huge undertaking and
students have to come to realize what it means to dive
into a subject.” Advisors will spend five hours on average
guiding a student over the six months he or she will spend
crafting a final draft.
Judis, who served as advisor to 12 seniors in this
year’s graduating class, says “the essay has forced them to
work hard, to research and to be objective answering their
questions.” “You could say the experience puts hair on
their chests,” laughs Friendly.
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The Extended Essay:
Structure and Rigor
Caspar Nilson Wrede ’11
Advisor: Mr. Ferguson
Extended Essay: “To What Extent Does Scandanavian Airlines
use Price Discrimination”
For Caspar, the experience of working under former
Economics teacher Jim Ferguson provided him the confidence
to transition into a professional job immediately following high
school. Now in his gap year, Caspar works at the Zurich office
of Union Bank of Switzerland as a management support officer
assisting bankers to design and market financial products. He
plans to pursue advanced economics at university this fall. “I
doubt that if I hadn’t done such a challenging essay that I could
have gone into the demanding job I have right now,” says Wrede.
“The extended essay requires you to structure a product from beginning to end, and it takes a long time. It’s what I do at the bank
now,” he says.
The purpose of an Extended Essay is to
further a high school student’s ability
to “analyze, synthesize, and evaluate
knowledge”.
Laura Cavaciuti ’11
Advisor: Sonata Sardinha
Extended Essay: “To what extent does multilingualism affect an
individual’s emotional repertoire?”
Laura, a Sociology major at the University of Bristol, chose
the IB track because it would best allow her to transition from
an American high school to a British university. With guidance from Learning Support Specialist and Psychology teacher
Sonata Sardinha, Cavaciuti explored the effects of speaking many
languages upon emotions in her thesis, “To what extent does
multilingualism affect an individual’s emotional repertoire?”
The assignment required extensive planning, much reading and
research, numerous drafts, and an excellent work ethic, she says,
“which is exactly what I have found to be needed at the university
level.”
“Without the experience and rigor demanded by the extended essay, I believe I would be struggling,” says Cavaciuti.
“Ms. Sardinha kept me focused and determined. Her comments
on my rough draft as well as her constant support allowed me to
feel less stressed.”
Guidance Secretary: A Fount of Knowledge
For Isabel Cordier, a single phrase has informed her
daily life as Guidance Secretary: “We cannot allow ourselves
a mistake.” Her zero tolerance for error has earned her a perfect record. Today, Cordier can proudly say that in 16 years, a
document never has been misplaced nor a college application
delivered late.
To her colleagues in the Guidance Counselors’ office,
Cordier typically understates her efforts managing the huge
flow of paper and electronic files between ASP and universities worldwide. “She is the linchpin of our operation,” says
College Counselor Laura Vincens. “I can’t imagine life here
without her.”
Arriving as a temp in October 1996, Cordier was offered
a full-time job three months later. Today, as the point of contact for requests for information about Upper School students,
Cordier knows every student by name. And, as the keeper of
all data about their academic life, she ensures that any document requiring a school stamp or signature, and requests for
the all important high school transcript, are handled expeditiously.
“She is the linchpin of our operation”
She has to, she says. It’s a habit she perfected in the preC.A. (Common Application) era. While students have long
been asked to submit transcript requests a month in advance,
“back then, a lot of times, seniors would apply to a school at
the last minute, and that meant putting together a file with
transcripts, standardized test scores, teacher and counselor
recommendations, and the application form, and do it all in a hurry,” she
says. The experience was forged over
a decade and half with senior classes
that numbered up to 95. With each senior applying to as many as 10 schools,
the volume of applications requiring
processing between September and
Isabel Cordier
January reached 900 or more.
Recent senior class sizes have occasionally topped 100.
And with the great majority of American colleges now accepting the Common Application or the Universal College
Application, which allow students to upload one application
to multiple universities, Cordier’s workload is hugely streamlined.
She finds she no longer is tethered to the photocopy
machine unlike the “old days” of just three to four years ago.
“Now, we upload the transcripts and other required documents, such as the counselor recommendations, to a student’s
Common App file” she says. Of course, once more Cordier
checks and rechecks to ensure that the transcript is up to
date, and that the transcript, recommendation and application
match. This she does for the 1,000 or more applications ASP
seniors submit each fall.
The rise of the Internet has vastly reshaped her daily
work life, often for the better. But, it also means that Cordier
experiences less face time with students. “Before, I was dealing with students all day long. It was very personal. But, now
they email me from their Blackberries,” she laughs. “But, I’m
always available for them!”
2012 College Acceptance
American University (3)
Appalachian State University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Babson College (3)
Barnard College (3)
Bentley University
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brigham Young University - Provo (2)
SUNY Purchase (2)
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Temple University
Chapman University
Clark University
Colgate University
Columbia College
Columbia University
Cornell University
DePaul University (2)
Drexel University
Duke University
Emerson College
Emmanuel College (2)
Emory University
Fairfield University
Florida Institute of Technology (4)
University of Rhode Island (2)
Florida International University
Fordham University (2)
George Mason University
George Washington University (4)
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Goucher College
Hamilton College
Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins University (3)
Wesleyan University
Juniata College
Kenyon College
Kettering University
Lone Star College
Long Island University - Brooklyn
Michigan State University
New York University (3)
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University (14)
Northwestern University (2)
Parsons School of Design
Pennsylvania State University
Pratt Institute
Prescott College
Purdue University
Queens University of Charlotte
Rice University
Rider University
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
Savannah College of Art and Design
Southern Methodist University (2)
Stanford University (2)
Suffolk University
Syracuse University (3)
Texas A & M University
Texas Christian University
Tufts University (2)
University of California - Berkeley
University of California - San Diego
University of Chicago
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Denver (2)
University of Findlay
University of Maryland - Baltimore County
University of Mass - Amherst (2)
University of Miami
University of Michigan (3)
University of Richmond
University of San Diego
University of Tampa (3)
University of Utah (2)
University of Washington (2)
University of South Florida
US Naval Academy - Foundation Program
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Wellesley College
Wittenberg University
14
Classics Scholar Alexander Evers:
2012 Graduation Keynote Speaker
Alexander Evers, a classical studies and ancient history
scholar from Rome, was the keynote speaker at the Class of
2012 Graduation Ceremony June 16. Described as a young
and dynamic researcher with varied interests from music
performance to church history, Evers is noted for his innovative and humorous take on the past in which he encourages listeners to consider that there really is no dead area of
thought. Says US Head Aaron Hubbard, “Evers is fascinating
to listen to and a very cool academic who speaks about the
relevance of ancient history and classical times and today’s
society.
An assistant professor at the John Felice Rome Center
of Loyola Universtiy Chicago and the Istituto Patristico
“Augustinianum” of the Pontifica Universita Lateranense,
Evers obtained his doctorate at Oxford University with
a focus on the church and cities of Roman Africa in Late
Antiquity. Today, his interests concern the city of Rome and
its empire in the third and fourth centuries. Drawing from
Alexander Evers
his research, Evers manages to link seemingly disparate moments
in ancient history to current issues, such as the Roman conquest of
France to the nature of expat life. Both address the evolution of cultural identity, he says.
Evers bridges the past with current day life and does it with wonderful humor, says Hubbard. “It was a privilege and honor to have
him speak at the 2012 commencement ceremony.”
Graduation Coordinator Key to Staging Annual Ceremony
She is one of ASP’s longest serving employees and the first
point of contact for most Upper School families.
Mona Stewart not only can name nearly each of the 380
students in the US, but can claim to have witnessed almost
all graduation ceremonies for more than three decades.
As graduation coordinator, she also has planned many of
the events in recent years.
For Stewart, the occasion is never a repetition of the
previous year. With each crop of graduates and nuanced
changes she adds annually to the now standard ceremony,
Stewart aims to make the event novel for an audience that’s
numbered 700 in recent years.
It is one of her favorite moments on the school calendar,
and one she starts preparing in October. As the chief coordinator of the year-end tradition, Stewart pulls together equipment rental companies, invitations, a dress rehearsal with the
entire senior class, volunteer ushers, and stage decorations
for a ceremony that is captured in thousands of photographs
over nearly one and a half hours.
It’s an emotional time for everyone who is involved with
the senior class, she says. “Each class is different and each
class is very special to us.”
15
For Stewart, the challenge is to create an efficient and memorable event
for the graduates and their families. “In
previous years we held the ceremony at
Parc Lafayette in Marnes la Coquette,
but those years when the weather grew
inclement, the ceremony shifted to the
PAC and more recently the gymnasium.”
Mona Stewart
With neither rain nor a piercing sun
bearing down upon graduates and guests, today the gymnasium is the favored location, one that also offers the added
benefit of greater seating capacity. Every minute detail is
looked after from the chairs to the flowers to the lighting and if
something is not thought to be up to standards, it is sure to be
altered the following year.
French champagne, soft drinks and hors’ d’oeuvres await
in the Upper School cafeteria at the end of the ceremony, and
that’s when Stewart might relax as she mingles with her treasured students, now alumni, and their families.
“It feels good to look back and know that everyone was
happy and that another year ended on a high note,” she says.
And, the work helps Stewart to forget momentarily that the
youngsters she first greeted as 14-year-olds will soon move to
cities all over the globe. Her work towards a successful graduation ceremony and reception for graduates and their families
is what she hopes the Class of 2012 will recall as another one of
their delightful memories of ASP.
16
Farewell to the Class of 2012
A Word from the Upper School Director
To each of you in the Class of 2012, I wish you a warm
and fond farewell as you venture beyond the walls of a school
whose legacy you’ve helped create. What a pleasure it has
been for the faculty and staff of ASP to have had the opportunity to work with young people of your character and talents. Alas, there is a time for everything and having contributed so much to ASP and gained so much yourselves, it is
indeed right that you move to the next stage. What is heartwarming and reassuring to me is that I am confident that
ASP has prepared you well for wherever your journey takes
you. You have a first rate academic program and have had a
global experience that few other young people can boast of.
Yes, you are prepared to actively engage and contribute to a world where boundaries are falling and the pace of
change seems to be ever increasing. I know this first hand as
I welcome back graduates of our school year in and year out
who have taken what they have gained from ASP and successfully transitioned into wonderful universities around the
world and later to fulfilling careers. I know you and I am proud that you’ll be representing
ASP wherever life takes you and, though I can sometimes get
seduced into thinking that the world is in decline and that
young people today face almost insurmountable challenges,
I was heartened to listen to the 2012 Harvard commencement
speech given by Fareed Zacharia. I encourage you to watch it
because, as Mr Zacharia states, an objective look at the facts
paints a different picture. Challenges, yes; insurmountable,
no!
I, therefore, wish you all the very best as you prepare
to lead your generation forward in creating an even better world. Be energetic, passionate and committed and
remember all the valuable lessons you’ve learned from
being part of a marvelous school community. Remember,
too, to come back and share the exciting life stories you
are about to create.
Aaron Hubbard
Upper School Director
17
Aaron Hubbard
Congratulations ASP
Class of 2012
Introducing the Class of 2012
Sarah Ahmed
Akaolisa Ohiomokhare Akaraiwe
Yasemin Aksoy
Latifa Mohamed Jaham Al-Kuwari
Gonçalo Faria Kol de Almeida
Malon Azria
Shana Azria
Martina Belloni
Alexandros Nikolaos Jan Bennink
Anna Isabel Bradley-Webb
Robin Francis Ewald Brenninkmeijer
Brian Timothy Carden
Caleb Michael Castine
Kelsey Adeline Cleland
Jonathan David Cole
Grant Thomas Conley
Jose Tomaz de Alencar
Luca de Ruggiero
Maxime Desbans
Erik Einarsson
Amine El Aymani
Rawi Fayad
Michael Florentino Lucien Ferrasse
Vito Francia
Julia Johanna Fruitema
Flavia Lara Garcia
Leyla Anne Michelle Gentil
Byron Georgellis
Anthony Ghosn Bichara
Chloé Goddard
Emilia Jo Goldman
Adrian Daniel Grinspan
Harmony Daphne Grob
Andrew Garrett Halverstadt
Lauren Elisabeth Hamery
Julia Ryan Healey
Brooke Jordan Hodenfield
Louis Michael Hougaard
Ryan Douglas Hunter
Sophia Willemina Jacobs
Daniel Hyrum Jones
Alexandre Jouannem Figeac
Tae-Woo Kim
Peirce Sakura Kirkham
Evan Ram Knox
Gage Maxwell LaCharite
Eric Cheong-ming Lai
Evan James Leonard
Max Lorsignol
Andrew MacKenzie
Léonard Marignier
Alexandra Louise Miller
Antonia Elizabeth Miller
Rachel W Mills
Salomé Mirigay
Alexander Murdock
Hannah Rose Nowicki
Nikhil Pai
Karson Emily Pape
Nicole Andrée Pick
Jose Miguel Fava Pinto de Sousa
Christopher Robert Pollard
Nadja Popovic
Madison Christèle Pugh
Adrian Cemre Remzi
Jessica Ann Ritchey
Alexandre Pierre David Robertson
Marie Savoye
Avery Clark Sellers
Patricia Servera Leira
Rebecca Chenaud Slade
Julia Lauren Smadja
Guillermo Sosa
Ronald Andrew Sprague
Marko Stojkovic
Snorre Strømberg
Elizabeth Anne Surprenant
Olivier Louis Torchiana
Lovisa Tullgren
Nina Ana Vlatkovic
Anabel Wahlers
Farah Weannara
Oliver Alexander Wlodarz
Jennifer Wood
Danielle Yona
18
AMERICAN SCHOOL
OF PARIS
Founded 1946
The American School Of Paris
41, Rue Pasteur, 92210 Saint Cloud, France
Tel.+33 (0)1 41 12 82 82
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www.asparis.org